By David Robb ——Bio and Archives--November 4, 2023
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Across the world, people under 30 are raging against Israel's response to the October 7 attack by Hamas forces. They claim that the attack was a just action taken in opposition to Israel's "occupation" of Palestine and the oppression of Palestinians throughout the region.
The trouble is, that is all based on a flawed understanding of the history of the region, promulgated by an education system that no longer teaches real history.
It is often taught that Israel sits on land that originally belonged to Palestinians and that the Jews stole it to form Israel in 1947. There are lots of young people today who are of the opinion that predominately white settlers took land from indigenous peoples, and in the interest of justice, that land should be returned to their modern descendants. They should be rejoicing over Israel. The land on which the state of Israel is built is the ancestral home of the Jews who are the descendants of the original indigenous inhabitants. The creation of the state of Israel was merely restoration of that land to its rightful owners.
It doesn't help that title to the area has been muddied over millennia. Conquers have come and gone through the region for thousands of years. Even before the time of Alexander the Great the ancestors of today's Jews had to fight against Persians, Canaanites, and numerous unnamed groups who would take that land. The legions of Rome conquered it and occupied it before the time of Christ and held it for nearly a hundred years after.
Islamic armies marched through, claiming it as their own, even at one time building a massive mosque on the ruins of the most sacred temple of the Jewish people. The land was part of the British Empire after the First World War, and it is to the British that we owe the name "Palestine" for the region. It was only after the Second World War and exposure of the horrors of the Holocaust that it was decided to restore to the Jewish people of the world their homeland in the region.
Ever since its rebirth in 1947, Israel has had to fight for its very right to exist. Resentful neighboring countries, subscribing to a religious doctrine that taught Jews were an enemy to be eradicated, repeatedly attacked in attempts to complete the work of the Holocaust and eliminate the Jewish people and erase any claim they might have to the land.
Regions known today as the West Bank, and Gaza were taken by Israel during some of the many wars they had to fight merely to exercise their right to exist. Even between wars, they suffered terrorist attacks, bombings that killed innocent civilians, and individual attacks by people who fervently believed they were doing the will of their god by killing Jews.
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Many of these attacks originated in territories that had been captured during the outright wars against Israel. For over a dozen years between 1948 and 2007, including in 2002 following the Second Intifada, Israel suffered terrorist attacks that killed proportionally many times more Israeli citizens than the 911 attacks killed in America. It wasn't until Israel began to construct a high wall in the West Bank that the attacks fell to manageable levels. Yes, walls work.
Responding to international pressure, and in an attempt to show goodwill to the so-called Palestinians, Israel in 2005 removed, sometimes forcibly, Israeli citizens who had built homes, businesses, and farms in Gaza, and gave the territory over to the Palestinians. Included was a fully functional infrastructure suitable to support hundreds of thousands of people.
Note that this happened when many of the protesters of today were children, and many others weren't even born. How many of them have any idea that Israel was attempting such reconciliation with the Palestinians? Where is the education of these infants in the real history of these conflicts and of Israel's attempts at peaceful resolution?
Many worldwide were fearful that when Israel turned Gaza over to Palestinian control, the region would be used as a base and launching pad for more attacks on Israel. Those fears were well founded.
After 2005, Hamas took political control of Gaza and proceeded with a military buildup, aided by billions of dollars of worth of contributions from Islamic nations around the world, much of which was used to purchase weapons and military supplies.
In the years between 2005 when Palestinians were given control of Gaza and 2008, Hamas launched almost 4,000 rockets against Israel, resulting in numerous Israeli deaths. Israel struck back against launch sites, and military storage locations, many located in high density civilian areas, resulting in many Palestinian casualties.
Hamas apologists are quick to point out that Palestinian casualties greatly exceeded Israeli casualties, neglecting, of course, to point out that there would have been NO Palestinian casualties had Hamas not been launching rockets against Israel. Their claim is that Hamas would not have needed to launch rockets if Israel didn't exist, so it was all Israel's fault.
Since 2005, before many of today's Palestinian supporters were born, Hamas has launched over 20,000 rockets of increasing range and accuracy against Israel leading up to the October 7, 2023 attack. Israel throughout has shown incredible restraint in trying to destroy only military sites and resources, while causing minimal civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Hamas has been manipulating world opinion by placing military facilities at schools, hospitals, apartments and other locations where a return strike would be guaranteed to result in large numbers of civilian casualties. This coldly cynical approach has paid off in international condemnation of Israel, neglecting the role of Hamas in causing such casualties.
Essentially, what Hamas has done is to turn Gaza into a large military base. As with the military bases of other nations across the world, large numbers of civilians are present on the bases to provide necessary support functions. Without this support, the military activities could not be conducted.
Even though the civilian population is not directly involved in combat, they knowingly participate in all the activities that enable the combatants in their operations. These "civilians" are complicit in whatever hostile acts the combatants commit. They put Hamas in charge, and support the Jihad against Israel.
That brings us to today. How many of these global Palestinian supporters would support active aggression against a peaceful nation? How many of those who condemn Russia's actions against Ukraine also support Hamas' worse actions against Israel? Why do they support the deliberate murder of women and innocent children by fanatic attackers yelling "god is great" and who delight in destruction, rape and murder? Where is their woke empathy and caring and sense of justice and feelings for the rights of the real indigenous peoples?
Crickets, for they are ignorant of history. Not only are they ignorant, but in their ignorance, they believe the falsehoods of those who wish to destroy a country and a people who have been persecuted and oppressed across millennia. In their zeal to eliminate oppression, they instead encourage greater oppression and even seek genocide.
It is said that those who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them. That is no less true today than when it was spoken long ago. Worse yet are those who learn false lessons.
Truly, the current conflict between Israel and Hamas is a result of the failure of a generation to learn the lessons of history. Will we learn this time? School is open.
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David Robb is a practicing scientist and CTO of a small firm developing new security technologies for detection of drugs and other contraband. Dave has published extensively in TheBlueStateConservative, and occasionally in American Thinker.